Why So Frightened?

Asylum seekers have no connection to population boom, unemployment, debt, terrorism or interest rates, but you wouldn’t know it watching the nightly news. We receive so few refugees compared to the global community yet time and again we are told to be scared. Why do so many Australians feel a sense of entitlement to turn back people fleeing for their lives? What does it mean to be Australian if we offer no just sanctuary for refugees? Why have we allowed a moral issue to become a political one?

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Who?

Kon Karapanagiotidis is the CEO and founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, the largest independent human rights organisation for refugees and people seeking asylum in Australia. They assist thousands of people each year, with the help of over 1200 volunteers and 125 staff.

We love exploring ideas at the Wheeler Centre, and encouraging others to do the same. That’s why every Thursday lunchtime we hand the microphone over to the great thinkers, dreamers and orators of our time.

With a dazzling range of passionate speakers and unusual topics, our soapbox provides a platform for the eclectic, topical and enlightening stories you won’t hear elsewhere. This is the most memorable lunch break you’ll have all week.

If you’re in need of sustenance of body as well as mind, the MOAT lunch cart will be serving delicious $10 lunchboxes in the Performance Space from 12.20pm.